According to his website, Ryan Hayashi is the "world's most famous samurai entertainer." He's also a helluva magician, as evidenced by this video. In it, he performs a mind-blowing coin trick act (at times one handed!) that leaves both Penn and Teller left wondering what they just watched. The best part of the video might be when Hayashi, a fan of the magic duo since he was a boy, is given the big F.U. award at the end. I don't think he can believe that his childhood heroes have just acknowledged his skill.

I never imagined being able to skate into my adult life, or that anyone would still care if I did. To celebrate, I did 50 tricks that I've created (and/or pioneered on vert). Thanks to all of you that made this dream possible. It's been an unreal ride, but I'm not done yet.

And yet I can barely get mine to walk down the stairs. (KumaFilms via Kottke)

And if you're not hip to the fantastic story of the Slinky's invention:

In 1943, Richard James, a naval mechanical engineer stationed at the William Cramp and Sons shipyards in Philadelphia, was developing springs that could support and stabilize sensitive instruments aboard ships in rough seas. James accidentally knocked one of the springs from a shelf, and watched as the spring "stepped" in a series of arcs to a stack of books, to a tabletop, and to the floor, where it re-coiled itself and stood upright. James's wife Betty later recalled, "He came home and said, 'I think if I got the right property of steel and the right tension; I could make it walk.'" James experimented with different types of steel wire over the next year, and finally found a spring that would walk. Betty was dubious at first, but changed her mind after the toy was fine-tuned and neighborhood children expressed an excited interest in it. She dubbed the toy Slinky (meaning "sleek and graceful"), after finding the word in a dictionary, and deciding that the word aptly described the sound of a metal spring expanding and collapsing.

Every now and then I meet people who seem to possess superhuman powers. Elliott Terral is one of those individuals and his official title is Director of Magic at a company called Art of Magic.

How cool is that?!

After speaking with Elliott for a few minutes, I asked if he was a performing magician to which he didn't answer. Instead, he began patting down his pockets for a deck of cards. I beat him to the punch and handed him my very own deck of Erdnase 1902 Green Acorn Playing Cards. One thing to know about this deck, is that you either own it because you're a genius with a deck of cards, or you're a poser.

And for the record, I am not a genius with a deck of cards.

Elliott took my fancy cards and did the impossible. He showed me a King of Hearts and slowly flexed it back and forth as the card changed from king to an ace and then back again. His movements were slow and it was real magic to everyone that was with me. If you'd like to see the effect performed by the guy who invented it you can watch it here.

And if you'd like to purchase the method, it's only $5.00 but you need to know it isn't a trick you can do just because you bought it. There's a reason an "EXPERT LEVEL" descriptor is attached. But the good news is that there are other effects and concepts on the website that are far more approachable and equally satisfying. Read the rest “Meet Elliott Terral, Director of Magic”